


Your World is Mine

by NyxEtoile, OlivesAwl



Series: Tales Through the Looking Glass [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Hydra (Marvel), Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, SHIELD, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-09-29 22:17:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20443457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxEtoile/pseuds/NyxEtoile, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OlivesAwl/pseuds/OlivesAwl
Summary: On hiatus for completion of upcoming team fic---Within a minute, Tony and Steve were in each other’s faces. This was not a situation that would be improved by the two of them having a fist fight. James met her gaze and they had a silent conversation. If one of the men stepped in it would just escalate. The other women were emotionally involved or not forceful enough to silence them. So it was up to her.“May I offer a suggestion?” Amanda asked loud enough to shut them both up and look at her. “Before either of you whips out an actual dick to measure?”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all knew there would be a Doc story. Title is from the song We All Bleed Red, the same song as the title from Scars.

Amanda's life was currently a cascade of one weird experience after another. Magic and time travel and re-doing the last few years of her life. All weird. So big and world changing she hadn't really had time to sit and think about any of them. And that wasn't even counting the evil AI she'd been fighting a couple days ago.

But currently winning for weirdest experience of the week was teaching Hawkeye how to knit.

"No, no, you're in the stitch below the working row, see?" She nudged the little wooden needle until he moved it the the right loop. "There you go. Once you have muscle memory you can tell you're in the right spot by feel."

"I can see how this becomes a meditative task," Clint said.

She nodded, watching him whip through the next few stitches. "It's nice, too, because it has an end product. You can accomplish something. Sometimes very quickly. I can bang out a hat or sock in less than a day, usually."

"Your socks have complicated patterns." He frowned. "I think I fucked something up."

He handed her the needles and she frowned, trying to pick apart what he'd done. By the time she'd figured it out, he pointed out the base on the horizon, so she just tucked the knitting away. "They're not that complicated. And there are much simpler ones. Maybe you can help me with the sock replenishment." She was almost certainly going to have to make everyone new socks to replace the ones left in the future.

Clint chuckled. "Maybe." He tapped at the console, then got on the radio and requested landing clearance. "Suit up," he said to her.

She'd brought a SHIELD outfit, and went to the back of the jet to put it on. She'd just finished scraping her hair back into a ponytail when Clint came out of the cockpit. He looked tenser than usual, so she felt compelled to ask, "Ready?" when he reached her.

He gave her a brisk nod before heading down the ramp. She took a breath and found the calm, cold place inside her that she went to when she needed to do something unpleasant.

When she joined Clint out in the cold he was being questioned by a bunch of guys with guns, so she strode down the ramp to get their attention towards her. "And you are?" one of the guards asked her.

"Newbury," she replied, keeping all possible emotion out of her voice. Channeling the most annoying of surgeons she knew, she told herself this guy was simply in her way and she had to put up with him to do her job. "I'm an expert in the super soldier serum. I'm here to take the Asset for some testing."

He looked her up and down. "You got clearance codes?"

"Utah Alpha seven-seven-two-nine," she said, trusting her memory.

Clearly that was correct, as she got an officious nod. "Are you taking a tank or do you want him woken?"

She waved a dismissive hand, tired of the questions. "I'll wake him up, the tank is too bulky."

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am, right this way." He turned on his heel and marched back to the door. 

They were calling her ma'am, it must be working. She fell in step behind him, Clint at her back.

The base was large and labyrinthine and they had to go down several levels to reach the room holding James and his tank. She glanced at it, then looked away, trying not to think about it too hard. She dismissed their guide when he offered to help keep the Asset in line, and was already inputing the wake up procedure when he left.

It took quite a while for him to thaw, and she and Clint spent the interminable wait in silence. She regretted leaving her knitting on the jet, just for something to do with her fingers. As the ice on the tank walls melted she could finally see James well, and he looked terrible.

"Jesus," she muttered, turning back to the monitors to run some vitals. "They don't feed him at all."

"That doesn't surprise me at all," Clint said, his voice clipped. You had to know him well enough to know that voice meant he was pretty damn angry. 

"It makes no goddamned sense. Even on a purely practical level. A body is a machine. A machine needs fuel. If you don't give it fuel, it doesn't work as well." She shook her head, adjusting some of the fluids being fed to him. "He's mentioned before that they never fed him enough but by the time I met him he'd had enough time on his own to bulk up."

"Some people like to buy cheap gas."

She sniffed her disgust at that, watching the heart rate and respiration numbers climb. "He should be waking up soon." The monitors indicated he was stirring, and she could see him shifting. She retracted the doors of the tank. "James," she said. "Wake up, honey.”

His eyelids fluttered, and opened. In them, she could see recognition.

"There you are," she said softly, allowing herself a touch of relief. "You know who I am?” He replied in Russian, which took away a little of the relief, though she did recognize the word "beautiful" in there somewhere.

Then he blinked a few times and said, "Manda," and she allowed herself to breathe.

They needed to go, but she took a moment to hug him, just the feel him. "Jamie."

Behind her, Clint cleared his throat, and she felt James tense. He didn't relax again until he spotted and recognized Clint.

Confident he wasn't going to try to rumble anyone, she leaned back and held his shoulders. "I know everything is probably muddled right now, and I promise to explain. But right now I need you to pretend you're still the Soldier as we walk out of here.”

He nodded, clearly willing to trust her long enough to get out of here. "Got it."

She helped him down from the tank and handed over the clothes they'd brought for him. He got dressed and then she led him out—though she was very tempted to stop and lecture someone about how poorly they took care of him. If she were a Hydra scientist depending on him as an actual asset, she'd be just as pissed. Different parts of her warred with each other about what she was most upset about.

When they got on the jet, he turned towards her. “Okay, seriously, what-”

Amanda launched herself at him, grabbing the lapels of his jacket and hauling him down for a kiss. He was alive and free and coming home with her. So for the first time since they'd come to this time she felt like things would be okay.

He tasted like chemicals, far more bitter than she expected, but right then she didn't care. He lifted her off the ground and she lost track of time.

“Hey,” Clint said from somewhere behind them. “I absolutely get what’s going on right now. No judgement. Had sex in a helicarrier bathroom during the original timeline’s Battle of New York, so I get it. . . but I really need to take off.”

James broke the kiss and set her down gently. “Wait, timeline?”

"Sit," Amanda told him, nudging him into the closest seat. Clint was right, they weren't safe quite yet. The jet was moving before she'd finished latching her seatbelt. She did her best to explain the time jump to James, though he didn't remember the party or Strange and his portals, due to the freezing.

“How did you find me?” he asked eventually.

"I knew you were in Siberia, Cal found a location with incongruous technology. I talked myself and Clint in. Told them I was taking you for treatment before your next mission.”

He grinned at her, the kind of face that made him look much more like himself, the man she married, than the one who'd almost broken her arm the day they met. “God, I love you. You are the most brilliant woman who ever existed.”

She laughed, feeling the weight of the last few days come crashing down on her. Leaning over, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm so glad to see you."

He held her close, and she told him a little more detail. That they still needed to destroy the stone they'd been sent to destroy. That they were almost assuredly stuck in the past. That Steve was fine and everyone was in California. She could hear his stomach rumbling just before he asked, "God anything to eat?"

SHIELD jets were always well stocked. "Are MREs okay?" she asked, sitting up.

“I could seriously eat cardboard.”

She kissed his cheek, getting up to go rummage in the drawers. She brought over a stack and handed him the top one, which he ripped open and started to eat as she opened the next. When they got home she was going to do a full exam on him and work on a nutrition plan.

"They never fed me enough," he said around a mouth full of a mystery substance that was allegedly beef stew. He hadn't even bothered to try and use the little heater thing.

"I can tell," she said. "Your vitals are a mess."

"After I pulled Steve out of the river, I stole some money and went to a KFC and ordered a whole bucket. I didn't really even know what it was, I just followed the smell."

She wondered if that was a request. Or hint. "I'll work up a nutrition plan to get you back to fighting weight."

He chuckled a little and shook his head, chewing the MRE's provided cookie. "Their short-sightedness was their downfall. Hydra. If I'd been healthy and at full strength I'd have been able to overpower Steve with three bullets in him."

"Easily," she agreed. "But that sentiment is clear from the files about you. They consistently overlook the fact that a human weapon needs maintenance and care as much if not more than a gun or tank."

"They put too much faith in the serum. Just because something doesn't kill me as easily doesn't mean it's not harmful."

She leaned her head on his shoulder again. "We'll get you healthy again."

He busied himself with eating, and Amanda felt herself finally relaxing. She hadn't slept at all and was exhausted. She leaned against him and drifted, and at some point he got up and encouraged her to lay down, tucking her in with a blanket.

She thought she was too wired to sleep, but the next thing she knew he was waking her up so they could land in California. Everyone was waiting for them on the landing pad. James went forward to hug Steve, and was surrounded by the crowd. Clint went around it to see Nat. 

Tony materialized next to the ramp where she was waiting for the rest of them to relinquish James. He looked as tired as she felt. "How'd it go?"

"Far better than we could have hoped. No one questioned us, the codes I remembered worked. Walked in, walked out."

"How long do you think we have before they notice he is gone?"

"The guards in Siberia won't notice anything until a higher up comes looking for him. In the original timeline he didn't have any missions this year. I don't know if that will change with us meddling."

"Once we talk to Fury, he can probably help with alibis."

She nodded. "We'll get James cleaned up and he can keep a low profile."

James returned for her, holding out a hand before he reached her like he wanted to touch her the very moment she was in range. "Hey, Stark," he said, and got a chin lift in return. 

They started back inside, and Tony said, "Everybody has rooms, Pepper or Darcy will know where you guys are."

"Thanks," Amanda said. "I think I need more sleep before I'll be useful."

The room was probably very nice, but neither of them even bothered turning on the lights, they were that tired. They dropped shoes and pieces of clothing onto the carpet and climbed into bed. James flung an arm around her waist and dragged her close, burying his face in her hair. She was asleep again almost before she closed her eyes.

It was dark when JARVIS woke them, informing them there was a meeting starting in the living room.

"I should go to that," she mumbled. "Keep Tony in line."

"I will come because I love you," James said into her hair. "Only because I love you."

"It's possible Steve will want to do something stupid and you'll need to keep him in line."

"Right." He rolled onto his back. "I wrangle Steve, you wrangle Stark, and we'll hope no one blows up the house."

"Such is our life."

They paused long enough to tug on fresh clothes - Darcy had ordered some for everyone - and staggered out into the main part of the house. "I hope caffeine and food is included in the meeting."

The meeting had plenty of food, caffeine, and booze, because they'd slept so long it was evening. Amanda eventually had to take Tony's beer away before Pepper killed him.

It was mostly planning and trying to remember the major events of the last few years and who caused them. The consensus seemed to have been made that if they were stuck there in the past, they were going to do what they could to mitigate the damage that was coming. Amanda heartily approved, especially of excising Hydra from SHEILD. She was back to square one in her research and SHIELD's resources and scientists would make her life much easier.

"I didn't even think of that," James said, back in their room afterwards. "All your work."

She sighed, tipping her head back. "I distracted myself getting you back but. . . yeah. It's all gone. Even with what I remember, I have to start from scratch."

"You'll get it back, and probably better," he said, pulling her close. "I know you."

"Your unwavering confidence is appreciated," she told him, leaning into his heat. He was noticeably less solid than she was used to, but still familiar.

He kissed the top of her head. "You want to lay down and try and get some more sleep?"

"I think that's probably a good idea. Are you tired?"

"Not really, but I can see you are, and I'd like to lay down with you."

She smiled and nuzzled at him, lying down so he could curl around her. She was exhausted, still. Maybe time travel was just the worst version of jet lag in the world.

*

Bucky wasn't tired at all, and he'd had unsettling dreams during their nap. So once Amanda was sound asleep, he decided to get up and get some fresh air. He ran into Clint, who was having the same kind of night, and they went for a long run on the beach. 

Amanda was still asleep when he got back, so he walked as quietly as he could to the bathroom to take a shower.

A hot shower with good shampoo and scented soap was oddly grounding. It was the sort of thing that never, ever happened to him as the Asset and helped remind him he was in the real world. And Darcy had excellent taste in shampoos.

He dried off in the bathroom, studying himself in the mirror. His hair was shaggy as usual and he had a couple days of scruff. A moment of rummaging in the vanity didn't turn up a razor, so he gave up, heading back into the bedroom to find Amanda up and reading.

She glanced up when he entered and he saw several emotions flicker through her gaze. "Hey," she said quietly. "You stay up all night?"

"In my defense, I was just asleep for a couple years."

To his relief, it made her smirk a little. "Plus time travel jet lag. You won't need sleep till 2015."

"When I was awake as the Asset I didn't sleep. When I escaped it took me a while to figure out how."

She frowned. "You're making me regret getting you out bloodlessly."

He sat on the end of the bed."It was no more awful than anything else they did."

"I know." She leaned closer, rubbing his back. "It just feels very immediate right now."

"Yeah." He didn't really want to keep talking about Hydra, so he did the best thing he could think of, which was kiss her. She sighed, leaning into the kiss. He slipped an arm around her and she tucked closer to him, arms winding around his neck. She tasted the same. Safe, familiar. Like home. The world righted itself, at least for a minute.

"I feel the need to point out," she murmured. "My body is several years younger and healthier than we're used to."

He kissed down her neck. "Are you promising acrobatics?"

"I'm promising not to wince and have to shift because my knee clicked. Acrobatics were never my specialty."

He kissed her shoulder, her collarbone. "I'll make do."

She hummed in pleasure, then leaned back to tug her shirt off to give him more access. He mumbled thanks into her skin as he worked his way downward, trying to tell if he thought she felt any different. Her hands tangled in his hair and he tipped her back onto the bed so he could continue his slow exploration.

"Couldn't find a razor," he said, as if she'd mind the scruff. He cupped one of her breasts in his hand, stroking his thumb over the nipple until it pebbled.

"My clever plan of hiding them all worked," she teased, running her palm along his jaw.

He looked up at her and whispered, "Only for you."

She traced the line of his cheek with her thumb. "Same."

He bent his head and kissed her breast and her back arched. She had only underwear on, and it was easy to pull off, leaving her naked under his gaze.

"Well, that expression looks the same," she said with a smile. Reaching out, she tugged his arm. "Don't just look, though."

"I like looking," he told her, but he bent down again, to kiss her navel and scrape his beard against her deliberately. She opened her legs for him and he found more interesting things to do with his mouth. She gasped out his name, hands digging back into his hair. He hummed against her in acknowledgement, which made her shudder. He tried not to feel too smug about that. 

New, younger body or not, he knew her like the back of his hand. In minutes he had her shaking, nails scraping against his scalp and she rode out her climax. He sat up, rubbing her leg as he watched her try to catch her breath. "That's my girl."

She laughed a little shakily. "I swear that felt different. There's another paper I'll never write."

He loved that when she observed something interesting, her first thought was if she could write a paper about it. "In a good way?"

"Very good," she assured him. "More intense. I wonder if that's because the nerves are younger and more responsive or if it's because this body has been celibate for so long."

He leaned over her to kiss her, bracing hands on either side of her. "You taste the same."

She tangled her hands in his hair. "That's reassuring." Bracing her feet on the bed, she cradled him between her thighs and lifted up to him. "C'mere."

All he'd had on was a towel, and that had was already long gone, so it didn't take much to slide inside her. Something that definitely felt a little different, a little better. For the reasons she'd said, or just because his nerves were always jangled just out of cryo. Whatever it was, he had to stay still and breathe for a second.

"You okay?" she asked softly, stroking his cheek.

"More than," he replied as he started to move in her.

She sighed, sounding utterly blissed out. He bent to kiss her again and for a little while they just lost themselves in each other. He kissed her mouth, her cheek, her jaw, her throat, pulling out and pushing back in, listening for that little hitch in her breath each time.

Her breath sped up and her nails dug into his shoulders. "More," she gasped. "More, I'm so close." He shifted them, pushing her legs up so he could get deeper, and she pulled them even higher. Younger, indeed. The sounds she made hit a different pitch.

He straightened more, lifting her for a better angle, reaching between them with his real hand to press his thumb in circles over her clit.

She gasped sharply, then shuddered. Then she was clenching hard around him, shaking with the force of her pleasure. He growled, cursing in what he realized was Russian—though she didn't seem to notice—and it was only a few more thrusts before he gave in and followed her. It felt unbelievably good, more than he expected. This version of him had had a _very_ long dry spell.

Amanda king of chuckled, he wondered if his face or sounds had been particularly enthusiastic. He settled down on top of her and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.

"Shit," he finally managed to mumble, happy it was English.

"I agree completely."

"This body—for lack of a better label—had not had sex since 1945."

"Mmm." She rubbed the back of his neck. "You will not be useful for narrowing down the cause of the increased sensation."

He laughed, pushing up on his elbow to look down at her. "You need someone who got a lot of tail for your experiments?"

"I may be making some informal interviews."

Bucky rolled off her, shaking his head. "I think the Starks and the Bartons are your only useful subjects."

"All the couples are sexually active and now in younger bodies."

"Nobody else was together—or with anyone else as far as I know. I'm pretty sure Steve's last girlfriend was in 1945, too."

"Yes, but the focus of the study is if it feels different because the body is younger or because of the long dry spell. People who were sexually active in the future and present are a necessary input."

She was now making an actual scientific study out of it. He didn't doubt it; Amanda was someone who scienced for fun. He rolled onto his side, flattening his hand on her stomach. "If it's just the dry spell, it'll taper off. You should re-evaluate in a few weeks."

"We should have lots of sex in the mean time," she said with a grin.

He kissed her. There were a lot of things they should probably be doing now, but he'd rather do this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doc sciences about sex while shopping (say that three times fast).

The sun was fully up, so there was no going back to sleep. James was hungry and Amanda wanted some tea, so they got dressed and went out into the house. Others were already up, and they ran into Steve taking a bagel order.

In the kitchen, Violet and Bruce were at one end of the kitchen table, Violet nursing Neil. Tony was trying to feed Ruby at the other end, and he looked like he had been up all night. If that went on much longer, they were going to need to have a conversation.

Amanda went about making her tea, listening with half an ear to Violet offering to nurse Ruby. Which was a great idea if it got everyone sleep, and she listened in case she had to interrupt and tell them all it's medically safe.

Then she turned, and found James lifting the coffee pot to just drink the coffee straight from the pot.

"_James_."

He stopped with the pot hovering in the air. "What?"

"Get a mug, just because you can't get sick doesn't mean your mouth isn't full of bacteria."

"I just want a swig." He gestured with it, and Nat, who had just appeared beside him, took it right out of his hands. She pivoted, poured it into two mugs and then handed it back to him, with about a mouthful left in the bottom. He stared at it a moment, then said, "Thank you, Natasha."

“Solved my problem,” Amanda replied. Nat winked at her, and James made a grumbling noise before starting a new pot of coffee.

Nat explained that Nick Fury was inbound, to ask them questions. Which was not what anyone wanted, first thing in the morning before they could sort out what they wanted to tell him. The only concrete thing they'd all agreed on, so far, was that they were going to move their circus back to DC while the Tower in New York was being renovated.

James got his coffee brewed, which he put in a mug, by the time Steve got back with bagels. He poured a second mug, putting it on the table in front of Tony, who hadn't moved, before following the others out to the dining room where Steve was handing out breakfast.

That man did not look like he should have _more_ caffeine. But he was in his early 40's now, it probably wouldn't kill him.

"Just think," she said as they walked to the other room. "I can start all your medications early this time."

"You took advantage of my sleep deprivation to talk me into things when Ruby was a newborn, too." He drank his coffee, watching Pepper on the couch with Violet trading babies.

"With you as my patient I've learned to take every possibly advantage."

"That's fair." Outside, you could hear the blades of a helicopter, and Tony sighed. "And there he is."  
Amanda hadn't had much contact with Fury in her first round with SHIELD. He struck her as someone who'd be an even worse patient than Tony. The way he entered the room like a tornado did nothing to disabuse her of this notion.

The meeting was long. Explanations needed to happen. Arguments about what to do circled. At one point, with the timing only toddlers had, Ada streaked through the room covered in what looked like shaving cream.

By the end they had the beginnings of a plan, and a homework assignment to search for intel in Howard Stark's archives. Before Fury left, he advised them all to stay in California for a few weeks. Amanda was sure that was for some strategic reason on his end, but she was grateful. This crowd was exhausted, still bruised from the battle, and clearly mentally and emotionally turned inside out. They needed a break and some rest.

Ruby was now milk-drunk and sound asleep. "I'm going to try getting her into her crib," Pepper said, standing with the baby draped on her shoulder. "Pray for me."

To everyone's credit, all the well wishes were silent. Amanda made a half hearted sign of the cross and listened carefully as she walked down the hall. If Ruby cried, Amanda was probably going to have to throw herself on the grenade to ensure Tony and Pepper slept.

The topic of shopping came up, because everyone needed something. Amanda voiced a desire to hit a yarn store, in addition to the clothing and sundries that were on the rest of their lists.

Pepper still hadn't come back yet. "JARVIS, did Ruby wake up?" Amanda asked.

"Miss Ruby is asleep in her crib."

"Are Pepper and Tony asleep?"

"They are, yes. Would you like me to wake them?"

"No," she said firmly. "We'll wait for shopping until Pepper's up." She had, as best as she could tell, gotten some sleep the night before and might nap less.

"How about we make some lists," Darcy said. "Everything everyone needs, so we can shop efficiently."

"Good idea. Otherwise this will take all day and we'll still miss things."

James had quite the list, as it turned out. She cut him off when he started on furniture—though she was pretty sure that was a joke. They were in a billionaire's house. Everything in it was expensive and well built. Though not even remotely James's style.

"Oh, I do need a razor, unless you want me to grow a full beard."

"What do you want?" she asked. She might have preferences, but she wasn't going to dictate his facial hair.

"I think it would be a good idea for me to not look like the Asset if I'm going to go out in public." He sighed. "Maybe get some hair dye and clippers, too." 

She scowled at the mention of hair dye, but made a note. "I'll talk to Nat for ideas."

"No weird hippie colors," he said sternly.

"You'd look amazing in pink."

James rolled his eyes at her, and she laughed. "Right." She checked her watch. "Hey, JARVIS, would you tell me when Pepper is awake?"

"They are awake," he said. "But my sensors in their room are currently off."

Which translated into they're having sex. She sighed. "Well, I'm sure Pepper will emerge eventually."

"I'm happy to entertain you while you wait," James commented.

She considered a moment. "I fear us all ending up in a spiral where everyone is waiting for a different couple to finish having sex before we can go."

"We're younger, we can be quick." He paused. "JARVIS, do you turn everyone's sensors off during. . .?"

"Yes. I turn them off automatically when I detect private activity. It's a protocol that was implemented when Miss Potts began spending the night." Which meant that previously they'd been left on, making Amanda want to smack Tony upside the head. "I do keep one sensor listening only for my name," JARVIS was saying. "As long as you don't yell that out in the throes of passion, you will have complete privacy."

"I will attempt to restrain myself," she said dryly.

James chuckled, and raised his eyebrows at her. She heaved a martyred sigh. "Fine but really quick."

She got a wicked grin. "Yes, ma'am."

It was, in fact, quick. And rough, and hot, up against the wall by the door. Being in a younger body had a lot of upsides—though one of her thighs did ache a little.

It was an hour and a half later, after spending a small fortune in yarn store, that she was in a dressing room at a Rodeo Drive clothing store that she noticed the source of the soreness was a pretty unmistakable hand print bruised into the underside of her thigh.

She sent James a picture of it. _Well done, honey._

_I'll make it up to you,_ he replied.

It was high enough it was completely covered, at least until they got to the second part of their shopping adventure, which involved drinking and trying on bathing suits in a fancy hotel suite. Like you do. At least she was not the only one with a sex bruise.

After a round of comparing bruises and discussing sex-related furniture needs, Amanda decided there was no better time to bring up her latest research topic. Especially since she was just this side of drunk. "Has anyone else noticed sex feels better?"

"Well, _I_ have," Darcy said proudly.

"Is that because your body is experience it differently or because your partner is no longer suffering from crippling back pain?"

Darcy frowned. "The second one is definitely happening. I don't know how I'd know about the first." 

"What is your hypothesis?" Jane asked. Because she was a scientist, and she understood.

"I'm trying to determine if the increased sensation comes from a younger body with better nerve sensation, or because this body is on the end of a long dry spell."

"Oh, interesting. Darcy's probably too young to provide useful data. Not that you have that big a sample size."

"Why would a dry spell make a difference?" Darcy asked. 

"When you've not had a sensation for a long time it can feel more intense. I think some of it is psychological - like when you haven't eaten all day and whatever you finally have is the best thing ever. But I think there's also something to nerves and muscles being unused for a long time so when they start to fire up again it feels . . . more."

"I'm never hungry. If I don't have a partner to make me food, I cook for myself." Darcy reached to take back the drink Jane had confiscated. "If you get what I'm saying."

Amanda nudged it farther away. "Sex with a partner still engages different areas, but yes, regular masturbation helps."

"It does feel different," Pepper said. "But I have a very different body. One that didn't have a baby, and is not nursing, and didn't have all its flaws removed by a mad scientist." 

"You're likely not a worthwhile data point," she agreed. She clicked her tongue. "My sample size really isn't large enough."

"We need a poll," Darcy said. "Sharon, Nat, Violet?" She pointed at Jane. "I know you weren't getting any."

"It did feel better," Sharon admitted. "I thought it was just 'cause he was feeling enthusiastic."

"Even if I had data," Violet said, "which I don't, it wouldn't be useful for the same reason as Pepper."

Jane sighed. "I'm going to have to say different but worse." She held up a hand when they all looked at her. "We have a. . .size differential. Took me a little time to get used to him, the first time."

"Oh, I remember that," Darcy said, making a face. "You woke me up at 1 AM looking for my Advil."

"That was my Advil that _you_ stole."

"Why none of you come to _me_ for painkillers," Amanda muttered.

"I didn't notice any change," Nat said. "For what it's worth."

Jane patted her arm. "There you go. Also, if I'd known you in 2013 I'd have come to you for painkillers instead of that one, because you wouldn't have asked me how my vagina was feeling at breakfast."

"No I would not have. Though I am a little disappointed at my inconclusive results."

"Sometimes science is a bitch." Jane paused. "Also, _do_ you have pain killers?"

"On me right now? Or in general? Because carrying the doctors bag of goodies didn't start with joining the team."

"I was thinking now."

"I have some," Pepper said. "I have a Mom purse." She looked at her watch. "And we should probably sober up a bit and put our clothes back on."

"The lingerie is not going to buy itself," Nat agreed.

After a stop an a lingerie store, and to get takeout, they made their way back to the house. Amanda's phone chimed. _Polled the men. Three better, one same, one Not Applicable._

_I LOVE you._

"James increased my sample size. Better sex is now winning."

"You can never write the paper," Jane said.

"I know," she said with a deep sigh. "I have a list of those."

What she did have was a lot of work to do, as became apparent in the next few days. There was a ton of tech that needed to be made, including her entire suit. Everyone was pretty adamant there would be no attempt at Hydra until everyone was geared up. She spent a lot of time in Tony's lab, with the rest of Team Science.

She was mostly useful for her memory. She'd worked closely with Tony in building her suit and the various upgrades and new versions of it. So she sat at the console and recreated schematics and blueprints the best she could. When things started being assembled, someone handed her a tiny screwdriver and she got to put her surgeon skills to work doing the things that needed the steadiest hand.

At one point Rhodey showed up and yelled at Tony until he explained. Now he was sitting across the table from her, calibrating a suit gauntlet.

"So you're the medic?" he asked.

She nodded. "And full time Tony wrangler. Amanda. Most of them call me Doc. We get along."

"I can see he respects you." Rhodey sounded vaguely astonished.

"We are very similar, though we come at problems in different ways." She sat back to stretch a little and scan the crowd. "He mellowed a lot, in the last few years. I think he feels a little safer and a little steadier. With a big group of people around to have his back."

"Yeah, this is crazy. All these people. Touching his stuff. Pepper and I were literally the only people JARVIS would let through those doors."

"He's still a little weird about his stuff, this is more of a desperate times thing. But he and Bruce work side by side on a lot of stuff and I pop in for projects. He's learning the benefit of having other brains on a problem."

Rhodey chuckled and shook his head. "Guess he finally grew up."

"Not to say he doesn't still royally fuck up," she added. "Later, remind me to tell you about Ultron."


	3. Chapter 3

"A different hair color would really help."

Bucky had shaved, and then put his hair back to mimic how it would look short, in an attempt to not look like the Winter Soldier. It worked, but unfortunately, he now looked just like World War Two images of Sgt. Barnes. Which didn't help. He asked Natasha and Sharon, because they were spies, and they told him what he already knew.

"You don't have the complexion for red but we could do blond," Sharon offered. 

"I can talk to Coulson," Nat added. "See about getting a face veil so we can tweak your features when you leave the house."

"That might help." He paused. "Blond? Really?"

She shrugged. "It's the most different. I'm not saying platinum. Somewhere between me and Steve maybe."

"You can be Clint's brother," Nat teased. "You've both got that camera avoidance thing."

Bucky sighed. "Let me talk to Amanda."

"In case she doesn't like blonds?"

"I don't know, it seems polite to run it by your wife before you completely change your appearance."

"Fair enough," Nat said.

Amanda did, in fact, make a face at him when he explained it to her. "It's only temporary."

She huffed out a breath. "I know. But blond?"

"They don't think I can pull off red."

That got even more face but she nodded. "I'm sure I'll get used to it."

He reached out to wrap his arms around her. "You can pretend you're having a torrid affair."

Another huff. "That might be fun."

"I'll even speak a foreign language if you want. I speak quite a few."

She snuggled against him a little. "Go on. . ."

He bent his head, kissing her ear and whispering something to her Spanish, deciding it was the sexiest-sounding on his list. She giggled a little and lifted her head to kiss him.

"Okay?" he whispered. He didn't know how he knew that he needed her get her consent, but he knew he did.

She nodded and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'll miss it. But I know you worry about getting spotted. If it will give you peace of mind, I can deal with it."

"I'll grow it extra long for you when it's over."

"That sounds like a reasonable compromise."

Natasha cut and dyed it for him. Apparently she'd been given stylist training once for a cover. The Red Room was very thorough.

"He does kind of look like he could be related to Clint," Amanda admitted when it was dry and styled. "Which is a little weird."

"I hope you're not about to suggest a swap," Nat said, snipping a couple stray hairs. "Because I have feelings about that."

"Tease."

"Yeah, we're taking your Sex Study to that level," Bucky muttered.

"You all mock me with potential data samples and then snatch them away."

Bucky rubbed his cheek, which was clean-shaven because it was still morning. "It is going to look weird when the stubble comes in?" He was a guy who had a five-o'clock shadow by two. He'd always been jealous how Steve didn't have one at midnight.

"A little," Nat admitted. "If you're able to shave before going out in the evenings do so. Otherwise, we might need to use a face veil to hide it."

"Hey, Doc?" Cal was in the doorway. "They need you downstairs. The argument about electrical voltages is getting heated."

She looked skyward. "This is my life. This." But she stood and headed for the door, already wearing Doc face.

"Nice hair," Cal commented. "Very surfer dude."

"Thanks," Bucky muttered. "I'm going back to carrying things." He was hauling boxes up from the basement archives for the others to go through.

"I'll put some color safe shampoo in your room later," Nat said. "And given how your hair grows we'll probably need to roots in a couple weeks."

"Thanks, Nat. Really."

"Happy to help. I love a good cover."

The cover came in handy when he got herded into going to a jewelry store so several of them could re-buy their engagement/wedding rings. He didn't have a face veil yet, so he settled for dark clothes, a hat, and sunglasses. People thought he was the bodyguard.

He helped Steve dither over various rings, before picking out something simple for Amanda, with swirls that reminded him of her tattoo. The sales girl told him it was based on a design from the forties, which he had to admit, delighted him. They'd have to get remarried, but he thought she'd like to have something. Even if she had to be careful where she wore it.

It occurred to him that since he was in disguise, _he_ could get a wedding ring and wear it full time, something that made him inordinately happy. He had their real wedding date engraved in it, even if it confused the engraver.

They stopped at Tiffanys for Clint to get something for Nat, then at a taqueria for dinner, before finally reaching the house. Bucky was done with people for at least a couple of days, though was pleased that everyone in the house was close enough to his monkey sphere to not stress him out.

"Steve is planning a wedding," he commented when Amanda came to bed that night. "I'm just going to hide."

"Sounds like a good plan." She settled in bed with a sigh. "Whose wedding is he planning?"

"Tony's. I got you something today." He reached over to the nightstand to give her the box, and then held up the hand he had a gold band on to show her. 

Her face light up whens he saw his ring, clearly anticipating what was in the box. She took it from him and opened it. "Oh. That's beautiful."

"I tried not to make it too engagement ring like. So you could wear it."

She slipped it on her finger and admired it a moment. "It really is lovely." She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you, James."

"Reminded me of your tattoo," he said, reaching to spread his hand over her thigh above it.

"I can see that." She studied it a moment more, then rolled towards him. "How was your day out with the boys?"

"Strangely normal."

"That's good right?" She rubbed his arm. "We gotta find normal where we can."

"I know you've got stuff with your family, and I don't even have an identity, but I want to get married again. When we can."

"As far as I'm concerned we can hit the courthouse as soon as you have ID. We'll deal with my family later."

He grinned, pulling her close and burying his face in her hair. "Thank you."

She patted him, rubbing his ribs. "You're welcome. It'll ensure a bunch of pictures of that hair."

He laughed. "I love you."

*

The next month was a lot of research and packing. Tony and Pepper got married and had a one-night honeymoon. They dug up most of Howard's old research and notes, which Amanda devoured, as she'd never seen them. There was a lot of new information in them.

A house in DC was acquired, though it was apparently hideous, so they had to pack up everything they wanted to bring, including equipment and files. So Amanda had to box up all the files she'd just gone through and James had to lug them all again. 

After the week that included a four hour flight with screaming babies and digging a town out after a tornado, Amanda really thought things would calm down for a while. But then a crazy man decided it was time for Tony to fix his exploding person problem.

As part of her serum research, Amanda had gone through all the Extremis data from Tony and Bruce when they had to remove it from Pepper. It had a lot of potential, as it had regrown lost body parts and even went so far as to fix her breast cancer gene. 

But rewriting DNA was as dangerous, and was obvious to her how easily it could go wrong, particularly as any changes would be inheritable. Exploding was the least of Extremis's problems. 

Then Tony brought her to a meeting with Maya Hansen, and she thought two things. One, the exploding had an easier solution than the one Tony and Bruce had come up with. Two, if the wrong person had found her when she was young and dangled that kind of funding and research freedom in front of her, she'd have been working for the dark side, too.

Hansen didn't pay much attention to her, focused on Tony as she was. In this day and age, Amanda Newbury wasn't a noteworthy name. Certainly, the other woman wouldn't have expected her to work out the problem by the end of the meeting.

Tony on the other hand, didn't look at all surprised.

She was still fiddling with her formula when he got a call from the office that Killian was in the lobby terrorizing Pepper. Which meant she got to try out her new suit.

Killian looked just like she'd pictured him, smarmy smile and all. He tried to get a rise out of Tony—unsuccessfully—and then tried Amanda. "You must be Dr. Newbury. You have a face that needs fixing. I could help with that."

It was fascinating how many people seemed to think her scar was a weak spot. The whole world saw it every day. Even in this year she'd been hardened to looks and comments. "Hard pass," she told him with a thin smile. "I've heard nasty things about possible side effects."

He brushed her off, but there was a slight dip in the smarm that made her think she'd hit a nerve. Then he feigned innocence—he was just here for a business meeting—and didn't protest when Tony herded them out.

Something felt very off about all this. She could see on Tony's face he felt it too.

It wasn't till they went up to see Pepper that it occurred to them what, exactly, he'd been distracting them from. Ruby was on a field trip with Violet and Sharon. When they didn't answer their phones, Amanda slammed her face plate down and was airborne.

They were at the Baltimore Aquarium, and by the time Amanda had the building in sight, JARVIS was reporting that a page for Sharon had gone unanswered, and no one knew where her and Ruby were. "I have located Ms. Carter's mobile phone," JARVIS said.

"Where is it?" she asked, dreading the answer.

"The location appears to be a dumpster behind the aquarium. I believe a call to the authorities is appropriate at this point."

"Yeah. Do so. Call Coulson, too. We'll need SHIELD to take point on this." In the meantime, she walked around the building to checked the dumpster. If Sharon's phone wasn't the only thing in it, she wanted to be the one to find out.

By the time she'd ascertained that it was just the phone, JARVIS told her the aquarium was on missing-child lockdown, SHIELD and the local PD were on the way, and that Tony had just landed on the sidewalk at the end of the alley she was in.

She walked down to join him, shaking her head. His face fell and she reached out to brace hold his arm. "They're gone."

He nodded, turning away to call Pepper while she had JARVIS put her through to Steve.

"Hey, Doc. You guys have any trouble with Killian?"

She took a deep breath. "He was a distraction," she told him. "Someone took Sharon and Ruby."

There was a beat of silence. "What do you mean someone _took_ her."

"She's not in the aquarium and her phone has been tossed into a dumpster. Logical assumption is they went to kidnap Ruby and took Sharon with her."

"How did they—Amanda, she can spar with me and hold her own, I've seen her take down men twice her size. She's not a woman you can just grab."

"I don't know, Steve. Violet said she was on her way to the bathroom to change Ruby's diaper. Maybe they took her unaware. Maybe they threatened Ruby. When we get them back, we can ask her."

"Jesus," he said, like it had finally sunk in. Like he'd thought maybe he could logic out of the reality. "I should come down there."

That was the last thing they needed, it would bring the press here in a swarm. "We have the police and SHIELD coming in. I don't know if there's anything for you to do here."

"I need to do something. I should do something."

She glanced over at Tony, who promptly took off. "Tony is heading back home. I'm going to stay here and coordinate until SHIELD is here, then I'll bring Violet and the kids home. 

"Let me know the minute you know something."

"I promise," she assured him. They hung up and she had JARVIS send James a message to go hover near Steve so he didn't do anything stupid.

"Dr. Newbury!" called a voice, and when she turned she saw Phil Coulson striding towards her.

Straightening her shoulders, she lifted a hand to acknowledge him and went to meet him. "Coulson. Here's what we know."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! We're not dead. I (Olives) just had an unspeakably busy week at work, meanwhile Nyx was camping in the woods with her daughter's school trip. Not a lot got done, so now I'm posting three different things tonight.

After debriefing him about the kidnapping and Killian's almost certain involvement in it, she rounded up Violet and the kids and got a SHIELD car to take them all home.

Not long after everyone got home, the ransom demand arrived, via a text message Killian sent Tony.

"Do you have what he wants?" Pepper asked.

"He wants me to fix Extremis." He didn't look up, typing some reply of some sort into his phone. A bunch of the others hovered behind him, looking over his shoulder.

"Do it," Pepper said, in a voice that brooked no argument. It was an order. But it wasn't actually one Tony was capable of following. He wasn't the one who knew how.

He looked up and met Amanda's eyes.

She knew what Ruby meant to him. And what asking her would cost. So she said, "I need a couple hours in the lab to test my theories."

"No," Steve said immediately. He was in Cap Mode. "You don't negotiate with terrorists."

"This is my daughter and your fiancee we're talking about," Tony shot back. "And I haven't heard any other ideas."

Within a minute, they were in each other's faces. This was not a situation that would be improved by the two of them having a fist fight. James met her gaze and they had a silent conversation. If one of the men stepped in it would just escalate. The other women were emotionally involved or not forceful enough to silence them. So it was up to her.

"May I offer a suggestion?" she asked loud enough to shut them both up and look at her. "Before either of you whips out an actual dick to measure?"

She sent Thor to try to get a message to the Asgardian who saw everything. Then she tapped into her supervillain side to point out that instead of fixing Extremis she could find a way to neutralize it. "Shoot a dart in one of his goons, make it a fair fight."

"It took a month of treatments to get it out of Pepper," Bruce said.

"You didn't have me then." It wasn't bragging when it was true.

Once that was settled she went down to the downstairs lab to actually try, but she'd barely gotten her notes open when Tony came downstairs. "You really think you can do it?"

She didn't look up from the formula she was working out on the screen in front of her. "I would not have said I could if I didn't think I could."

He didn't reply at first, but she could feel him still watching her. "One of the reasons it took Bruce and I so long the first time getting out of Pepper is that we wanted it to not hurt."

Amanda would have solved that with sedatives, but now wasn't the time. "Not really a concern in the case."

"I'd consider it a personal favor if they felt like they were being boiled from the inside."

"I'll add that to my notes."

"If they've hurt her. . ." he started, then trailed off and shook his head, apparently unable to finish the sentence.

She looked over at him now. "If they've done anything like that, then we'll obliterate them."

He met her eyes, and then nodded once. "Might do that anyway."

"Won't hear any argument from me."

Tony took a couple more breaths, then asked, "Can I be of any help?"

No, because he was an engineer and not a chemist or a biologist, except when he felt like dabbling. But he clearly needed something to do. So, "We'll need some way to administer the neutralizer."

"That I can do," he said. "Thank you."

"Thank me when we're done."

*

Bucky had been in Steve's shoes. Steve was handling it way better than he himself had. Perhaps because of how well he compartmentalized. 

He even, unbelievably, seemed to be suggesting that they try and take these people alive. Stark was not at all on board with that. "Killian has now kidnapped my daughter and my wife. Not to mention all the Extremis victims. I'm pretty much at kill on site. And putting his head on a pike as a warning to others."

Hydra had taken Amanda because they wanted something from her. Bucky tried to imagine if it had been his baby, taking with the purpose of blackmailing him. Head on a pike was probably restrained. 

He found himself meeting eyes with Clint, who he could see thinking the same thing. Just making that hyperbole was probably about dark as a guy like Tony Stark got, before he cracked. There was a reason certain tasks were left to people like himself, and Clint and Natasha.

Bucky could see Steve's jaw clench, probably because he wanted to agree and disagree at the same time, so he spoke up. "Hey, I am in favor of teaching the lesson a few years earlier in this timeline. Coming for one of ours is not a survivable event. We will find you, kill you, burn everything down and salt the earth."

"The gates of hell will fill with their screams," Thor said, causing a couple of them to look at him, because it sounded surprisingly menacing for someone who was cheerful even in battle. 

"I see we're all feeling medieval today," Nat muttered.

After a little more back and forth Steve clarified he didn't want anyone killing in cold blood, or anyone trying to surrender. Which seemed a reasonable compromise. Anyone with active Extremis was to be considered a danger.

Which is when Amanda piped up, "I wouldn't assume anyone with Extremis is dead unless you've take their head off. Speaking of medieval."

Well, that would certainly be cathartic. "Are you suggesting we decapitate people?" Bucky asked her.

Batting her lashes, she replied, "Darling I'm practically _ordering_ you."

He shouldn't find her as hot as he did right now. But there was something about Amanda being. . .Doc that really did it for him. And he was pretty sure there was a machete somewhere in their jet's small armory and he wanted it before anyone else got to it. 

"And make sure you sever the spinal column," she was saying. "Don't just slash from the front and stop when you hit vertebra. Full decapitation."

He leaned over and kissed her temple as they landed. And made a note about that spine thing.

Pepper had insisted on coming along, and there was a SHIELD van there with Coulson waiting to look after her. It probably wasn't wise to have her there at all, but Bucky understood completely.

They stood there on the street, just out of sight of the building. Stark and Amanda swallowed by their suits, hovering a few inches up on repulsers and ready to fly. Steve in the ridiculous 2012 Cap uniform. Bucky and the Bartons in black tack gear and armed to the teeth. Bruce and Thor standing there still in jeans and t-shirts added a surreal touch.

Thor flipped Mjolnir in his hand. "Ready?"

"Zap 'em," Stark replied.

The sky darkened with clouds, and thunder worthy of incoming tornado rolled above them. Thor pulled the lightning—which somehow put full armor on him, cape and all—and then threw it at the building. Short the power, blind their cameras, stun their guards, give the rest of them cover to run and fly. And, hopefully, to let Sharon know they were coming in.

Behind them, he heard the Hulk roar.

That was everyone's cue. Bucky ran for the front door, taking out a couple normal, armed guards on the way. He went for non-lethal shots in deference to Steve, and well aware most of these people were morally gray people looking for a paycheck and not actual monsters. Steve, Thor, and the Bartons got distracted on the way, but he hit the front door, just as the Hulk reached the building and punched a hole in it.

Bucky was the one who found Sharon and Ruby. She had the baby in a backpack and a gun in each hand, in the middle of fighting her own way out. He was impressed. "Found them! They look okay and Sharon has two guns."

"Thank God," Steve said.

"On my way," Stark said at the same time, and then added, "Stand back." Bucky barely got out of the way before he came crashing through the wall.

Sharon handed the baby over and said she wanted to keep fighting, so once Stark flew off, Bucky watched her back while she shed her extra gear. In his ear, Steve was saying something about trauma and her getting some rest. When he relayed that to Sharon she ignored it as expected. He took his earpiece out and handed it to Sharon, so she could talk to him herself. In the meantime, he cleared them a path out of the building. 

Amanda turned out to be right about decapitating the Extremis guys. Didn't even bleed.

Once outside, they regrouped with the others and discussed next steps. Killian hadn't made an appearance, but they were getting readings that indicated there were more Extremis people inside. The flyers lit up the building with rockets while the rest of them kept an eye out for stragglers.

It was Hulk who finally found Killian. A fact they only knew because he ambled back up front and tried to hand his _literal_ head to Tony. "Bad man."

Of course, _of course_ Amanda picked up said decapitated head and started inspecting it in her best mad scientist impression. Even asking, "Can I have it, then?" when Tony decided he wouldn't be bringing it to Pepper.

Bucky covered his eyes with a hand. "Babe, you're doing the sciencing before you speak thing."

She looked over at him, eyes wide and excited. "It's a biological sample full of Extremis, do you know how _useful_ this will be to my research?"

He should not find her this adorable right now, considering she was holding a severed head. But he loved it when she lit up like that. He was opening his mouth to say it had to stay in the lab when Steve asked, "Are we worried it's going to at some point regrow itself a body?" Something that did not occur to Bucky at all.

Rhodes took an actual step back from the circle they were standing in. "This is the beginning of a horror movie and I want no part of it."

Amanda sounded a little exasperated. "I promise not to hook it up to any electrodes and wait for a lightning storm."

He noted that wasn't actually a no. "So if Thor zapped it, it could grow a body?"

Her mouth thinned, then pursed. "I don't know." She paused, examining the head. "Probably not. He has no spinal cord or heart to move blood around." She turned it upside down, voice getting quieter, as if she was now only talking to herself.. "Brain stem's intact, but the cut wasn't clean. His brain's been without blood flow, what, five minutes now? By the time I get him home it'll be over half an hour. Even Steve and James are effected by oxygen deprivation. . ."

Bucky sighed, because he knew that tone. "She's gone down the hypothesis hole. We're not getting her back anytime soon."

In the end, they rode home in the jet with a human head in a biohazard bag sitting on the seat between them.

"I hope you know I love you," he commented.

"Because I laid claim to a decapitated head or despite it?" she asked brightly.

"Because you're a pain in the ass."

She laughed and leaned over the biohazard bag to kiss him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this one is now on pause, and will pick up again after our upcoming teamfic _Crush the Serpent With Their Heels_


End file.
